• Senegal launches digital plan to revive La Poste.
• Postal bank, e-commerce, fintech upgrades key pillars.
• Africa’s e-commerce seen doubling to $113B by 2029.

Senegal is pushing a sweeping digital transformation of its state-owned postal company in a bid to restore its relevance and position it at the center of the country’s e-commerce and financial inclusion drive.

The government unveiled the plan on Sept. 1 under the leadership of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, highlighting technology as the core lever to modernize postal, financial, and logistics services while expanding access to digital tools for citizens.

The strategy includes rolling out a national certified e-mail service to provide secure official addresses, overhauling Postefinances to improve banking access and transaction reliability, and establishing a postal bank—open to private capital by 2029—to expand digital financial services.

La Poste also plans to partner with small businesses and startups to strengthen delivery services and facilitate cross-border e-commerce, tapping into Africa’s fast-growing online trade. Cooperation with SENUM SA, the state’s digital implementation agency, is expected to accelerate the adoption of new technologies.

The initiative comes as private couriers and fintech players expand rapidly in a region where postal services have lagged technologically. Africa’s e-commerce market is projected to double to $113 billion by 2029 from $55 billion today, according to TechCabal Insights, driven by mobile commerce, super apps, and the African Continental Free Trade Area’s new e-commerce protocol.

Senegal’s plan aims not only to boost trade flows and restore public trust in the postal system, but also to generate skilled jobs and support broader economic growth. Its success will hinge on execution, stakeholder buy-in, and the ability to adapt to Africa’s evolving digital landscape.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum

• Mauritius launches inter-ministerial committee to coordinate national digital transformation strategy.
• Committee focuses on digitizing schools, public alerts, social benefits, and protecting vulnerable users.
• Island nation ranks highly in e-governance, AI readiness, and digital infrastructure in Africa.

The Mauritian government has established an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate the implementation of its national digital strategy, unveiled in May 2025. The inaugural meeting of this new body took place on August 26 in Ébène, chaired by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation (MITCI).

The committee will serve as a single point of contact to ensure coherence across various ministries involved in the digital transformation. Discussions at the meeting focused on several priority areas, including the digitization of schools, the establishment of a national public alert system, the development of a platform for managing social benefits, and reducing delays in public service delivery. Authorities also emphasized the critical need to protect vulnerable populations from online abuses.

This initiative aims to accelerate the modernization of Mauritian administration and strengthen the state's capacity to offer more efficient and inclusive services. It comes as African nations increasingly adopt e-governance programs to enhance public service quality and support their broader digital transformation efforts.

Mauritius has consistently demonstrated strong performance in digital development. In 2024, the Republic of Mauritius ranked 76th globally for its online administration development, placing it at the forefront in East Africa, according to the United Nations Department of Social Affairs. The island nation also secured the 69th position globally and 2nd in Africa for its AI readiness, surpassing South Africa and Morocco, as reported by UK-based consultancy Oxford Insights. Furthermore, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) positions Mauritius as the 3rd in Africa for its digital infrastructure development.

Should these projects progress as planned, the island nation is poised to further solidify its position in digital governance. This momentum is also expected to bolster citizen confidence in digital administration.

This article was initially published in French by Adoni Conrad Quenum

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum

• Senegal launches 'New Deal Technologique' to digitize public services, including parliamentary operations.
• Lawmakers receive training in AI, cybersecurity; electronic voting system adopted for real-time suffrage.
• Despite progress, African parliaments lag in digital maturity, highlighting need for continued investment.

Senegal is accelerating its national digital transformation strategy, dubbed the "New Deal Technologique," launched in February. This initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of public services through widespread digitization, with a particular focus on the legislative branch.

In a collaborative effort, the Senegalese government, the National Assembly, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently concluded a five-day digital training workshop for members of parliament. This program is part of broader actions designed to fast-track the digital evolution of the parliamentary institution.

The strategic workshop focused on equipping lawmakers with essential skills in digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), personal data protection, and cybersecurity. The objective is to empower them to guide the nation towards digital sovereignty by crafting public policies and legislation that address contemporary challenges, aligning with the "New Deal Technologique" framework.

Significant strides have already been made. In December 2024, the National Assembly implemented an electronic voting system, featuring a platform capable of recording votes in real-time. El Malick Ndiaye, President of the National Assembly, has prioritized the digitization of parliamentary services. The modernization plan also includes the development of an interactive institutional website for b

oth deputies and citizens, alongside the launch of a parliamentary television channel. A dedicated project team has been established to oversee this transformation.

Further demonstrating this commitment, President Ndiaye met with a delegation including executives from the technology company Airudi in May to explore potential collaborations in AI, digital transformation, and professional training. These efforts unfold within a context of profound technological shifts in parliaments globally, driven by demands for greater efficiency, transparency, and citizen participation, as highlighted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in its 2024 World e-Parliament Report.

"Traditional siloed systems are giving way to more integrated and intelligent cloud-based solutions. AI, machine learning, and natural language processing are revolutionizing everything from document management to cybersecurity. These technologies enable parliaments to automate routine tasks, better analyze data, and offer more responsive services to parliamentarians, staff, and citizens," the IPU report, published in October 2024, states.

However, the digital transformation process within the Senegalese Parliament remains in its nascent stages. According to the IPU, the most digitally advanced African parliaments include South Africa, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Morocco, and Mauritius, followed by Tunisia and Malawi. The report indicates that Sub-Saharan Africa remains largely underrepresented among top-performing parliaments, with 50% of its institutions ranked among the 30 least advanced in terms of digital maturity.

This disparity is primarily attributed to a lack of modernization initiatives, insufficient investment in digital systems, and the absence of ambitious digital transformation programs.

This article was initially published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Virginie Pouna Ngomi focuses on helping African families protect their health and belongings without complicated paperwork. She studies local needs and creates tailored insurance tools that fit African realities.

As a Cameroonian actuary and entrepreneur, Virginie launched COVA Africa in 2021. She serves as its CEO. The startup builds digital solutions that break down barriers to insurance for low-income households across Africa.

COVA Africa uses an "as-a-service" distribution model. It launched a platform that embeds insurance products into offers from merchants, mobile apps, fintech firms, and microfinance institutions. This approach makes buying insurance simple and seamless for everyday people.

The company cooperates closely with local partners. It designs products covering health, life, accidents, funerals, property, and agriculture. It also links micro-insurance to daily purchases like travel, subscriptions, and gadgets. Loyalty programs further encourage adoption. To ensure reliability, COVA Africa works with insurers in Africa and France.

Recognition followed quickly. In 2023, COVA Africa won the sixth CATAPULT Financial Inclusion Africa Program, organized by Luxembourg’s House of Financial Technology. This year, the startup joined BimaLab Africa, a pan-African insurance accelerator.

Virginie’s education laid a strong foundation. She earned a DEUG in applied mathematics in 2005 from Faculté des sciences Semlalia in Marrakech, Morocco. She completed a Master’s in Innovation Science and Risk Management that same year at Pierre and Marie Curie University in France. Additionally, she holds an actuarial engineering degree from the Institute of Statistics at the University of Paris.

Her career began in 2008 with internships at AXA Liabilities Managers and Allianz France. She then became a junior actuary at ALTIA, an insurance consulting firm, in 2010. By 2011, she advanced to senior actuarial analyst at PwC, a leader in audit, insurance, taxation, and legal services.

Between 2014 and 2021, Virginie sharpened her skills at Activa Assurances Group. There, she held diverse roles: actuary, deputy director, innovation director, and retail director.

Melchior Koba

• Algeria plans a digital portal and centralized system to monitor public infrastructure projects nationwide.

• The system will track real-time progress, detect delays and cost overruns, and enhance transparency.

• Authorities aim to improve public investment performance and tighten control over budgets through digital tools.

Algeria moves to modernize its public works sector by adopting digital technology to boost project management. The Ministry of Public Works and Basic Infrastructure announced plans on July 19 in Algiers to launch a digital portal and centralized system for overseeing infrastructure projects across the country.

Minister Lakhdar Rekhroukh said the system will serve as a real-time dashboard to aid quick decision-making and raise implementation efficiency. He explained that the platform will monitor every project phase at both central and local levels, providing an instant snapshot of work progress.

The two digital tools will help stakeholders spot delays and cost overruns promptly while delivering actionable data to administrators, project engineers, financial controllers, and local officials. This access aims to make project management more efficient and transparent.

This digital move fits a broader government effort to digitize public procurement in Algeria. The infrastructure sector faces issues like chronic delays, unexpected cost hikes, and opaque monitoring—factors that hinder public investment and strain state finances.

Developed by the French Treasury’s National Equipment Fund for Development(CNED), the platform combines performance indicators and automated reports. It links spending directly to actual progress on project sites.

By centralizing and updating information instantly, the system will improve cost control, help meet deadlines, and boost transparency in public fund usage. Officials expect it to lay foundations for stronger investment governance and higher quality infrastructure delivery.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Lamine Barro, a young Ivorian entrepreneur, is using technology to transform how African youth learn and work. Through his startup Etudesk, he blends data, accessibility, and digital tools to build skills and drive digital transformation across West Africa.

Barro, founder and CEO of Etudesk, launched the company in 2016. Since then, it has grown into a key player in the digital education sector, supporting both public services and private organisations with data-driven solutions.

Etudesk offers a platform that centralises and updates socio-economic and urban data in real time. Governments, investors, and businesses use it to make informed decisions and better understand local dynamics. But the company’s impact goes further—especially in the fields of education and employment.

One of its flagship tools is Etudesk LMS, a learning management system designed to boost the skills of African talent. The platform lets users create, manage, and distribute educational content. Organisations and companies can build training programs that combine videos, quizzes, documents, and assessments.

In March 2025, Etudesk launched a custom data platform for Côte d'Ivoire's Agence Emploi Jeunes (AEJ). The system integrates AI-driven diagnostics that assess each user’s profile, skills, and goals to offer personalised recommendations—a tool aimed at matching youth with job opportunities that fit their aspirations.

Beyond Etudesk, Barro plays a wider role in the Ivorian tech ecosystem. He is co-founder and vice-president of #Ci20 (Côte d'Ivoire Innovation 20), a coalition of leading technology firms. He also serves on the scientific council of Mission Laïque Française, a French-based non-profit that operates schools around the world.

Before entering tech, Barro studied biology. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Université Péléforo Gon Coulibaly in Korhogo in 2015.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

• Tunisia updated its e-People digital platform with support from South Korea.

• The new system improves transparency and citizen access to public services.

• Tunisia ranks above the global average in the UN’s 2024 e-government index.

Tunisia has upgraded its digital platform e-People Tunisia to improve communication between citizens and the state. The government launched this new version as part of a cooperation agreement with South Korea’s KOICA, signed in February 2025.

Authorities first introduced e-People Tunisia in 2018. The 2025 upgrade makes it easier for citizens to file complaints, send suggestions, and report corruption directly to government ministries and public offices. Users can log in, choose a department, send a message, and track the response through a built-in notification system.

The platform’s new features aim to boost transparency. Public officials can now process requests more efficiently and reach citizens across more digital channels.

Tunisia’s digital reforms are part of a broader strategy to modernize the state. The government says it wants to bring services closer to the people and make administration more responsive. Users can also access public data and provide feedback to authorities.

Tunisia has earned international praise for its progress in e-governance. In 2024, the United Nations ranked the country above the global average in its E-Government Development Index (EGDI), with a score of 0.6935 versus a global average of 0.6382.

With this upgrade, e-People Tunisia strengthens citizen participation and reinforces trust in public institutions. Authorities believe the platform can play a central role in shaping a more connected, transparent, and accountable government.

By Adoni Conrad Quenum
Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

• Gabon’s government launched Missamou, its first virtual assistant chatbot, to modernise state-citizen communication.
• Missamou uses natural language processing to provide round-the-clock official information and public services via Facebook Messenger.
• This move reflects Gabon’s push for digital inclusion and follows similar AI initiatives in African countries like Benin.

Governments worldwide are increasingly turning to chatbots to modernize public communication and improve citizens’ access to information. This growing trend reflects a broader push for more direct, interactive, and continuous engagement between the state and the public.

On  July 15, the Gabonese government unveiled Missamou, a virtual assistant available through Facebook Messenger. Described as the country's first government chatbot, Missamou allows users to ask questions, check official news, access public services, and obtain information about administrative procedures—anytime, anywhere.

Built using natural language processing (NLP), Missamou can understand everyday speech and deliver real-time responses from verified government sources. The system is designed to ease the burden on traditional services like call centres and in-person offices.

This initiative is part of Gabon’s broader digital transformation agenda, which promotes transparency, open data, and digital inclusion. By launching Missamou on Facebook Messenger, a widely used platform among the youth, the government hopes to ensure high user engagement and widespread adoption.

With the launch of Missamou, Gabon seeks to enhance the distribution of official information, streamline access to public services, and encourage greater citizen engagement. This effort aligns with a broader regional movement toward digital innovation in governance.

In 2023, Benin introduced GPT-BJ, a sophisticated conversational assistant designed to respond to complex inquiries regarding key legal frameworks such as the General Tax Code, Labour Code, Digital Code, and Penal Code. Created by the Agence des Systèmes d'Information et du Numérique (ASIN), GPT-BJ has been recognized as a pioneering tool for improving legal accessibility and promoting transparent governance.

By adopting similar AI-driven solutions, Gabon is positioning itself alongside regional leaders in leveraging technology for more connected, responsive, and citizen-focused government services.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Algeria is turning to its growing start-up ecosystem to help modernize its infrastructure and strengthen national innovation.

On July 9, the government created a joint commission linking the Ministry of Public Works and Basic Infrastructure with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Start-ups, and Micro-enterprises. The goal: involve start-ups in designing and executing large-scale infrastructure projects.

The collaboration aims to build a structured framework for start-ups to contribute to projects in railways, guided transport systems, and smart construction site management. At the center of the strategy lies digital innovation, applied research, and knowledge management.

To operationalize this, the government plans to launch exchange platforms and co-development workshops. These will connect start-ups with infrastructure stakeholders early in the process—from planning and monitoring through to project execution. Authorities want to embed local, agile, and cost-effective solutions into the fabric of national infrastructure.

This initiative forms part of the knowledge economy strategy introduced in 2020. Since then, Algeria has created a dedicated Ministry for Start-ups, a "Start-up" label, the Algerian Start-up Fund (ASF), and several incubators and support programs.

Currently, Algeria counts between 5,000 and 8,000 start-ups, with more than 1,200 having received the official “Start-up” label from the National Labeling Commission.

By involving these companies in strategic infrastructure development, the government aims to boost homegrown innovation, reduce technological dependence, and build national capacity. The wider ambition is to create skilled jobs and anchor entrepreneurship around the real needs of the domestic market.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Two Algerian tech entrepreneurs built a solution to help small and medium-sized businesses manage their human resources more easily and locally.

Talenteo, a SaaS platform developed by a young Algiers-based startup, gives SMEs tools to handle their entire HR cycle — from payroll to onboarding, plus leave, absences, and regulatory compliance. Tarik Metnani and Louai Djaffer launched the startup in 2022.

In June, the company raised an undisclosed six-figure investment from Tunisia-based 216 Capital. This funding will speed up Talenteo’s growth in Algeria and prepare it for regional expansion. The founders plan to move into Tunisia first, then other North African markets.

“We believe that a company’s success relies on investing in human resources. Talenteo was created to help African companies digitize their HR processes to support their growth and impact,” said co-founder Louai Djaffer.

Talenteo positions itself as a local alternative to foreign solutions, which often fail to match African regulatory and linguistic needs. The platform mainly targets businesses with fewer than 250 employees — the core of Algeria’s and Francophone Africa’s economy.

The company says its solution offers an integrated approach that fits local administrative requirements, such as payslip compliance under Algerian law and customized dashboards. Talenteo aims to cut paperwork for SMEs, boost transparency, and professionalize talent management.

Adoni Conrad Quenum